March, 2009
19
Mar 09
The Door to Hell
Outside the small town of Darvaza in Turkmenistan, geologists stumbled upon a huge underground cavern while looking for gas deposits. They concluded the cavern was filled with poisonous gas, and decided that the cavern should be lit on fire to burn off the excess. The hole has been burning for more than 35 years since.
19
Mar 09
Armory Show 2009 Discovery: Mikhael Subotzky
Mikhael Subotzky documents modern life in South Africa, from its prisons to government-created townships. He is maybe best known for his 360 panoramas of the extreme overcrowding in the prisons, but his other documentary work can be wonderfully intimate and beautiful.
13
Mar 09
Armory Show 2009 Discovery: Adrian Ghenie
Adrian Ghenie inhabits a similar space as Francis Bacon. His dark browns and grays form a dark nether world of men hiding under desks, figures floating over others that are asleep and pies in the face that look like deformities.The image that captivated me at the Armory Show is not available on the internet (or is, but only part of the image).
5
Mar 09
Armory Show 2009 Discovery: Denise Grunstein
The 2009 Armory Show presented less conceptual and gimmick-based work than usual. There were still several phrases on walls in neon, several dozen dollar bills affixed to a wall and a stack of cardboard boxes with ‘nothing’ written on each. Whatever. There was some really great work, especially in Pier 92, the modern section. Most of the work was from the last decade actually, so to me, it basically was contemporary. And a great way to revisit what had been doing well the last few years. I’ll be documenting many of my favorites the next two weeks, a new one each day.Denise Grunstein is apparently Sweden’s most celebrated photographer, both in the editorial and art worlds. Many people might feel flummoxed to know that such a great had escaped their grasp for so long. Not me! Whoa, what a find! She’s amazing! She had the above image in the Armory Show, and it’s a stunner. She produced an entire series, which I’m jubilantly excited to see, on the values and ideas that women’s hair have and have had in our society.